Cloud Atlas is a film which uses an ensemble cast, each playing six different characters in 6 different centuries of past, present and future. The overall theme of the film is on our actions, and the repercussions our actions can have on the future, and how our past influences our present.
One of the main themes of the film is repetition, using the same actors for the different roles, and having continuing themes throughout the 6 storys, such as the birthmark shared by the characters, the directors show us how the way we behave throughout time is always the same, Halle Berry's character, Luisa Rey, states, whilst reading old letters; 'i'm trying to understand why we keep making the same mistakes' and Tom Hanks character in the same vingette says that he is falling in love with Luisa Rey,and is incredulous of this given that he met her once for a brief moment. We as an audience understznd though it is not implicitly stated, thet he falls for her so easily, because it is not the first time that he has fallen in love with her, and nor will it be the last. The character of Robert Frobisher states that;
I believe there is a another world waiting for us, Sixsmith. A better world. And I'll be waiting for you there, and Jim Broadbents character states that as a race, we simply cross our paths like figureskaters, doing the same thing over and over.
Another facet is destiny, and the idea that we each have a path that is set out for us, and that we each have something that we have to do; Luisa Rey believes that uncovering the truth is her destiny, and that she must find out about the forces behind this nuclear power plant, interestingly enough the other main character that Berry plays has the same role, she wants to scale to the top of the mountain despite the fears of the tribes in order to uncover the truth. Sonmi-451, a clone who works in a diner has a destiny to fulfill, and sees that her actions have consequences beyond this time or the next, and who believes that death is but a door, which leads on to something else, and that her destiny is to essentially blow the lid on this totalitarian regime.
Which brings us to the next facet of this epic story, The Abess states that our life is not simply our own, and that our actions and the way we make decisions can have repercussions which affect the near and distant future and how the past affects us and the way we behave, an important theme in the film is that of nuclear power, and the 6th vignette takes place after 'the fall' when most of civilization have been killed off, and has now returned to living in huts and caves, and have resorted to tribe like behavior. This is important in two senses, one because it shows us that our actions can have major repercussions for the future, and secondly because it shows us that the circle of life sung about in the lion king doesn't just describe that our life cycle goes; 'from womb to tomb' as Sonmi-451 dscribes, but that the life cycle of civilization also does the same, and that everything comes full circle, and that we always end up back where we started.
Another theme in the movie is that of falling and ascending, Luisa's car falls after it is forced of the bridge, Chang falls of of the walkway after he is shot at, Sonmi-451 ascends from her underground prison to the real world where she finds a world that is equally as horrible as the world she has left, and she decides to make a difference in the world, and in doing so she ascends in the eyes of the tribes who live beyond her, and who worship her as a deity. The human race experiences a fall from grace in that it goes back to its most basic roots of savagness, after experiencing an event known itself as 'The Fall' interpreted by most to be a representation of nuclear holocaust. This idea of ascent and descent is a representation of the ways in which society succeeds and fails, and the way just as our successes are by our intelligence and creativity, our failures come from our inherent flaws, answering Luisa Reys question as to why we keep making the same mistakes.
The number six is an important facet of this story, six main characters, with 6 different storylines, set in 6 different times and places, Sixsmith is the name of a main character, we know from the novel that he is 66 years old, and Frobisher writes the Cloud Atlas Sextet, a 6 part symphony with 6 overlapping soloists, much like the film, which contains 6 overlapping story's.
Finally we come to the large and talented ensemble cast. Doona Bae plays sonmi-451, and shows us a portrait of a tragic yet strong and stubborn young woman, Tom Hanks plays a multitude of characters, prominently he plays Zachry, a man who seems to be running from a tragedy in his past. Jim Sturgess plays Adam Ewing, infusing the role with a deftness, and showing us a man who is struggling with issues of equality and fairness, and who must live out his destiny in order to free the world from the evils of slavery. Halle Berry shines as Luisa Rey, as does James D'Arcy as Rufus Sixsmith. Hugo Weaving and Hugh Grant play a variety of villains in entertaining performances, and it is great to finally see Grant acting in a role that is not a romcom. Finally we come to the terrifyingly beautiful Ben Whishaw, who is stunning as Robert Frobisher, a musician dealing with a talent that threatens to consume him as he works for the spoilt and egotistical Vivyan Ayrs, (played by Jim Broadbent) and whose story is told in letters that he writes to his lover, Rufus Sixsmith who is studying at Cambridge.
Overall this film is stunning, a deftly handled adaptation that manages to successfully weave together 6 differently storylines, and which manages to keep a visual identity for each, whilst still being coherent as a piece of art, this instant classic and what will surely be a cult film is a breathtaking testament to what connects us as humans and to the repercussions that our actions can have on the future. Rating A+
Robert Frobisher:
I believe there is a another world waiting for us, Sixsmith. A better world. And I'll be waiting for you there.
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